Saturday, February 11, 2006

RNO: Interview with Melinda Hyder (''Survivor: Panama - Exile Island')

Reality News online has an interview with the second person voted off of 'Survivor: Panama - Exile Island.'

RNO Interview: Melinda Hyder, Exiled from Exile Island will get you there.

A few excerpts I found interesting:
Melinda: First of all, Cirie and myself made an alliance on day one. Then we were approached by Ruth-Marie to vote out Tina. Tina was an extremely hard worker but the rest of us contributed equally, which wasn’t portrayed on television. And many times when she would go away by herself, she would not inform us as to where she was going and back at camp, we were gathering firewood, getting water, making the shelter stronger. We weren’t just sitting around talking.


RNO: After Shane decided to stay in the game, did you, Cirie, or Bobby try to convince one of the other three of his allies to turn against him?
Melinda: Yes. Cirie and I had Bobby’s vote but we needed a fourth person. We approached Aras before the immunity challenge. He told us that he didn’t want to think strategy yet and he just wanted to enjoy the game. We now know that he had already made an alliance and lied to us.

'American Idol' Turn Away - NY Opera Guy Andolino

Well, well, well. It seems 'American Idol' wannabe Anthony Andolino isn't going to go gentle into that good night. Remember him? The heavy-set guy who likes to sing opera and has over 65 pets? The one Simon Cowell sneered at and talked about the cost of food after he left? Yep, him!

He's hit the whole tabloid show circuit and he's determined to get his name out there. The night he was on the show (Vegas auditions), I mentioned "local boy." And, from this article in the local newspaper - Show's loss is vocalist's gain -- it's even more local than I thought. He works at the Petco store about a half mile away from me. I could go in there to buy furry mice for my two cats and see if he's there. Or not.

Anthony also has his own website at NY Opera Guy Dot Com. I was trying to think where I've seen him before - it wasn't Petco as I frequent PetSmart instead. Aha! I've seen him near Times Square!

Friday, February 10, 2006

New 'Amazing Race 9' Cast: A Closer Look at Joni Glaze & Lisa Hinds

Joni Glaze is a children's minister, age 44, living in Katy, Texas. Lisa Hinds is a realtor/artist, age 48, from Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. They're the SISTERS for 'The Amazing Race 9.'

From their official CBS bio:
They're seeking to reconnect with each other and make up for lost time as they've lived apart for 20 years -- oh, they probably wouldn't mind winning a million dollars while reconnecting, I'm sure.

Lisa is a mother of two who has been married for seven years. She has her own art gallery and describes herself as smart, determined and competitive. Joni also has two children and she's been married for ten years. She's never traveled outside of the United States. From the bio - "Funny and headstrong, Join claims to be a people person who is much more patient than her teammate."

The sisters describe themselves as loud, rambunctious and TALL. Both are over 6 feet tall. What would they do with the winnings if they win? Some plastic surgery.

Hmm... I'm not sure how long these two will last. Sisters on the show haven't had a great track record and at least one of these two has traveled very little, plus I see nothing in their bios to tell me they're physically fit or ever have been involved in any kind of athletics. I have a feeling they may be enjoyable to watch and I think they're going to have a great time. Win? I don't think so.

* All of my 'Amazing Race' blog entries can be found linked here.

'Survivor' Castoff Melinda Hyder on 'The Early Show'

Melinda Hyder, the latest booted from 'Survivor: Panama - Exile Island', appeared on CBS 'The Early Show' this morning. The interview can be found here and there's also the clip of the "secret scene" available on the site.

Here's an excerpt:
Harry Smith wondered whether the decision might have had something to do with the generation gap between the contestants, calling it "an age thing." And a secret scene of Hyder, only seen on The Early Show, showed there might be something to that theory:

"My new tribemates, most of them are not somebody I would choose to hang out with in my normal life. You've got Danielle, Courtney and Aras, who are younger. You have Bobby, who was on the younger tribe, even though he's my age and then you have Shane, who is older but doesn't really act like he's older. We are completely different people. Their language is just horrible. It's lifestyle and attitudes and that type of situation. It was an invasion. I think, a definite invasion."

What do you think? Do you think it was an age/attitude thing? A purely numbers ploy? What did Melinda in?

Today's TV Newsy Bits - Feb. 10, 2006

Who's got bits? I've got bits! Here's the television and entertainment newsy bits links that I found today out and about the web: